Invasion (2021 TV series)

Invasion (2021 TV series)
Invasion is an American science fiction television series created by Simon Kinberg and David Weil. It premiered on Apple TV+ on October 22, 2021. The series has received a mixed critical response. In December 2021, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on August 23, 2023.
Premise
An alien invasion is seen through the different perspectives of various people on different continents across the world.
Cast
Main
Golshifteh Farahani as Aneesha Malik
Shamier Anderson as Trevante Cole
Shioli Kutsuna as Mitsuki Yamato
Firas Nassar as Ahmed "Manny" Malik (season 1)
Billy Barratt as Caspar Morrow
Azhy Robertson as Luke Malik
Tara Moayedi as Sarah Malik
Daisuke Tsuji as Kaito Kawaguchi (season 1)
Sam Neill as Jim Bell Tyson (pilot: "Last Day")
India Brown as Jamila Huston (season 2; recurring season 1)
Paddy Holland as Monty Cuttermill (season 2; recurring season 1)
Enver Gjokaj as Clark Evans (season 2)
Nedra Marie Taylor as Rose Callaway (season 2)
Naian González Norvind as Maya Castillo (season 2)
Recurring
Olivia-Mai Barrett as Ryder Evans
Rinko Kikuchi as Hinata
Togo Igawa as Ikuro Murai
Tamara Lawrance as Learah
Louis Toghill as Darwin Charles
Cache Vanderpuye as Alfie Ademura
Episodes
Season 1 (2021)
Season 2 (2023)
Production
Development
Apple gave an order for ten episodes in January 2019 with Simon Kinberg and David Weil creating, writing, and serving as executive producers for the series, with Audrey Chon also serving as an executive producer. Deadline reported that Chad Feehan was briefly brought in as a showrunner "out of necessity" but soon departed the series in September 2019. When the resumption of filming was announced, Jakob Verbruggen was listead as the director and executive producer of the series with Amy Kaufman, Andrew Baldwin, and Elisa Ellis also serving as executive producers; however, further reporting stated that Amanda Marsalis had also directed some episodes. The first season of Invasion was reported to have had a $200million budget. On December 8, 2021, Apple renewed the series for a second season.
Casting
Deadline revealed in August 2020 that Neill, Anderson, Farahani, Nassar, and Kutsuna were all to be part of the cast.
Filming
Filming was originally planned to commence in mid-2019 with Kinberg directing but was delayed due to his work on the feature film The 355. According to a report by Deadline, Invasion planned to film in New York, Manchester, Morocco, and Japan. "Portions of the series had been shot in New York and Morocco, and producers were prepping for the UK shoot when the coronavirus-related industry shutdown started in mid-March." In February 2021, filming occurred in Greenwich, one of the last filming locations for the series. Filming for the first season concluded on March 15, 2021.
Release
The series premiered on October 22, 2021, with the release of its first three episodes; the first season concluded on December 10, 2021.
Reception
RogerEbert.com reviewer Nick Allen called the series "a thrilling series about people, not aliens", adding that the series "is a refreshing and often thrilling juggling of plot-threads that involve incredibly flawed or hurtful decisions made in the name of survival".
Andrew Webster, writing for The Verge, said that "Apple's Invasion feels like the first chapter of a sci-fi epic", adding "This all means that when the aliens do finally appear, it’s a huge deal."
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 46% approval rating with an average rating of 5.6/10, based on 41 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Invasion attempts a slow burn but inadvertently lets its tension completely fizzle out with leaden pacing that will leave viewers impatient for the alien apocalypse to finally arrive." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 51 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Daniel Fienberg, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, said that "Invasion verges on 10 episodes of setup so pure and unfulfilling that a better title would be Evasion". He called the series, "amusing at first, then annoying, and finally, simply confusing", but praised Sam Neill's performance.
For the second season, Rotten Tomatoes reported a 64% approval rating with an average rating of 6.1/10, based on 11 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "A marked improvement if not a wholehearted vindication, Invasion second season explores the fallout of an alien takeover with impressive scope." Metacritic assigned a score of 63 out of 100 based on 4 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Chase Hutchinson, writing for Collider, said "In its ten-episode return, the science fiction series makes its first season more like a prologue for the story it really wanted to tell."
References
External links
2020s American science fiction television series
2021 American television series debuts
Apple TV+ original programming
English-language television shows
Television series created by Simon Kinberg
Television shows filmed in the United Kingdom
Television productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Television series by Boat Rocker Media
Alien invasions in television